US Vice Prez Kamala Harris to revive bipartisan border security bill, if elected

Representational Image

US Vice President Kamala Harris, a democratic presidential candidate in the upcoming US elections, has restated her commitment to border security, emphasising the need to undertake stronger measures in order to combat illegal immigration and the fentanyl crisis, ANI reported.

According to ANI, Harris accused former President Donald Trump for blocking a comprehensive border security bill that had bipartisan support in Congress.

"Last December, I helped raise the rate of overtime pay for border agents," Harris stated. "I strongly supported the comprehensive border security bill, written last year by a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Congress."

The bill, which Harris describes as "the strongest security bill we have seen in decades," addressed various critical issues at the southern US border. It would have hired over 1,500 border agents and officers, installed 100 inspection machines to detect fentanyl, and would have expanded the number of immigration judges and asylum officers, as cited by ANI.

Harris explained, "It would have allowed us to more quickly and effectively remove those who come here illegally."

Despite the Border Patrol Union endorsing it, the bill was ultimately turned it around. "Donald Trump tanked it. He picked up the phone and called some friends in Congress and said stop the bill, because he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem," Harris claimed, ANI reported.

As a result of Trump's intervention, Harris claimed that there's less security at the border today.

"The American people deserve a President who cares more about border security than playing political games and their personal, political future", she said.

Harris vowed that if she is elected as President, she would bring back the bill and sign it into law. "Even though Donald Trump tried to sabotage the border security bill, it is my pledge to you, that as President of the United States, I will bring it back up and proudly sign it into law."

According to ANI, the US Supreme Court gave the Trump administration permission to use $2.5 billion from the Department of Defense to build portions of a border wall, sparking a fresh round of discussion on border security.

Despite Congress refusing to provide the requested funds, the 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court allowed Trump to go ahead with the controversial wall, a move that has fueled debate about how effectively to secure the border.

Many lawmakers objected the move, stating that taking money away from the Pentagon would undermine national security objectives, ANI reported.